The departure earlier this season of Adrian Newey who is the head designer at Red Bull has created a buzz around the Formula One paddock which will see drivers chopping and changing teams. This will not be for next season, but the season after being 2026. Newey is that good being a serial winning designer and every driver would like to have him behind the scenes.
We have already seen for next season Lewis Hamilton going to Ferrari and Carlos Sainz signing with Williams. Sergio Perez was lucky to keep his seat at Red Bull, but this is based on his performances' for the remainder of this season. His seat could be up for grabs at the end of this season and expect a new face will replace him. The question is can Red Bull wait until the end of this season with McLaren closing the points gap every weekend. The reality is the constructors title could be over within the next 4 races and Red Bull will no longer be dictating terms and why it was surprising for them to keep Perez.
Everyone thought Adrian Newey was heading to Ferrari, but the favorites are now Aston Martin which is not that huge of a shock considering Newey designed a supercar for them not that long ago. Lawrence Stroll the billionaire owner who is a major share holder in the company Aston Martin would like to win races as a winning car does help to sell the Aston Martin vehicles which would be a double win for him. This was the initial reasoning why car manufacturers were involved in racing as a victory over the weekend saw a boost in sales on a Monday.
Newey is reported to have been offered a $100 m contract which is not the kind of numbers you can turn down. With Red Bull he was reportedly on a $10 million per year deal so this is seriously on another level. Wherever Newey goes the top drivers tend to follow so this is why rumors are abound on Verstappen heading to Aston Martin.
Mercedes is one of 4 teams that has not signed a new driver for next season to replace Hamilton's departure and the talk s they are holding off hoping for news on Max Verstappen. If I was a betting man I would see Verstappen heading either to Aston Martin or Mercedes in 2026 which would then see Red Bull requiring a replacement. The quality of driver they get will depends on how well the race car is performing and we could see any of 4 drivers fighting for that seat or none at all. Sainz , LeClerc , Piastri or Norris depending on how well their own teams performed next year. McLaren with Norris and Piastri are the up and coming team who are expected to fight for the constructors championship later this year so this maybe highly doubtful.
It is amazing when one driver moves teams how it creates a knock on effect with all teams scrambling to hold on to what they have or hunting for a replacement normally within other teams. When there number one driver leaves then it becomes more serious. The problem is the grid has a number of weak drivers so there are only a handful of drivers other teams would seriously consider and the teams know this.